Asiana to receive its first A350 this week for service in May

SEOUL, April 24 (Yonhap) -- Asiana Airlines Inc. said Monday it will receive its first A350-900 aircraft this week to strengthen service on its international routes starting next month.

Asiana, South Korea's second-biggest passenger carrier by sales, will put the wide-body jet that can seat 311 people initially on the Incheon-Manila route from May 15, the company said in a statement.

The carrier originally planned to assign the twin-engine airplane made extensively with lightweight carbon-fiber-reinforced polymer material, on the Incheon-Hong Kong route from May 9 to June 14 to attract customers ahead of and during the summer holiday season. But the schedule was changed due to a lack of preparations, it said.

"We have rescheduled the starting date of services to conduct additional test flights and double-check security equipment in the plane," a company spokesman said.

In 2008, Asiana signed a contract with Airbus to purchase a total of 30 A350-900 airliners with the delivery to be completed by 2025. Four out of them will arrive this year, he said.

kyongae.choi@yna.co.kr
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